5.b) Improving your Vocabulary outside of the classroom.

Avoid thinking only of isolated words. Vocabulary also includes compound words like living room and brother-in-law, and expressions like go for it and make a decision.

Vocabulary is very personal; generally people use words that they like or need. Take the responsibility to learn more words; your teacher can teach you, but he or she cannot learn for you. Get organized. Always think about improving your vocabulary. The more vocabulary you know, the better your chances are of communicating well.

In order to really improve your vocabulary, you need to learn, practice, memorize, and try to use new words.

You can learn and remember the meanings of words:

• by trying to guess their meanings through context, through their similarity with Portuguese words or other words in English, etc.
• by using pictures, drawings, synonyms, antonyms, dictionary definitions and, if necessary, translation.
• by learning expressions as groups of words that go together and not separately.
  E.g.: go to bed, get together, have fun.

NOTE:
Don’t worry if you don’t remember all of the new words you have just learned. You will gradually recognize some of the words as you come across them and eventually incorporate them into everyday communication.

Help your memory

• Repeat the words
• Learn vocabulary in context
• Associate words with pictures, actions, people, situations and places
  Use your intuition
• Illustrate words by drawing pictures
• Use picture dictionaries
• Write down words in a vocabulary notebook

Vocabulary Notebook: Have a notebook to write down words that you think are useful. This is a way for you to have a personal vocabulary list. It is important that the words are not written down in alphabetical order, but arranged by topic, for example: animals, fruit, clothes, etc.

Tips for practice outside of class: Try to use new words in a sentence and experiment with organizing new words: classify them in categories (see examples):

Congratulations! You have just done an excellent exercise. If you like these suggestions, go to www.cellep.com “Dicas” and print out your copy!

Bibliography

Gairns, R. and Redman, S. 1993. Working With Words. CUP.